Some findings: Fewer places are wheeling around dim sum carts. So don’t expect much point-and-you-shall-be-served. Instead, diners are asked to check off dishes from a menu — which almost always comes with a photographic guide, helpful to the initiated and uninitiated alike. Prices have gone up, as they have at all restaurants, reflecting higher inflation that has pushed up the cost of doing business. And there is great variety in taste, technique, and quality from dish to dish and place to place. Each restaurant we visited had its strengths. Places we once loved were no longer quite as good; places we hadn’t been impressed by in the past were firing on all cylinders.
At the end of the day, the verdict was unanimous: The best dim sum is in Malden.
Let’s begin our tour there, with our two favorite dim sum restaurants of them all: Ming’s Seafood and Sun Kong.
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Ming’s Seafood Restaurant
There are two Ming’s — the original in Malden, which opened in 2016, and a Quincy location that arrived in late 2019. They are run by the same group and share many of the same chefs, according to co-owner Ling Zheng. Both are very good, and so it is possible that the best Ming’s is the closest Ming’s. Geography aside, the Malden restaurant has the clear edge. The food is more consistent, and the service is better.
The atmosphere: The dining room is upscale with a classical feel — columns and chandeliers, draperies and white tablecloths, and a warm golden glow. (The Quincy restaurant is showy and spacious — a great place for a wedding banquet.)
The food: In addition to the classics, Ming’s specializes in “fusion dim sum,” dishes like crispy shrimp in red rice rolls, flaky durian pastries that look like swans, and truffle shrimp dumplings with cuttlefish ink. There are also buns that look like Minions, rabbit-shaped coconut pudding, black-and-white-spiraled black sesame and coconut rolls, and other eye-catching items. Hargow and shumai are plump and flavorful. Chicken feet in black bean sauce are tender, the sauce savory if somewhat heavy. Buddhist delight chow fun, a vegetarian version of the popular wide rice noodle dish, is a bit bland but a nice option for those who don’t eat meat.
Don’t miss: Salty egg yolk lava buns with bamboo charcoal powder. It’s surprisingly hard to find salty egg yolk buns where the bright yellow filling is creamy, not grainy. These are excellent, and the black exteriors with gold brushstrokes are striking.
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Pricing: Prices aren’t displayed on the laminated dim sum menu. Items such as hargow, shumai, steamed rice rolls with shrimp, and chicken feet in black bean sauce are $6.35 each.
Good to know: Both Ming’s are mobbed on the weekends. Expect long waits at lunchtime, so plan accordingly.
19 Pleasant St., Malden, 781-321-3888. 477 Hanco*ck St., Quincy, 617-202-5118. Dim sum daily 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at both locations.
Sun Kong Restaurant
Ming’s is more stylish, but Sun Kong lodges firmly and fondly in the mind. The kitchen has a deft hand with steamed dishes, which arrive tender, never gummy or sticky; sauces are light and flavorful. If one might head to Ming’s for a special occasion or a business lunch, Sun Kong is dim sum for every day. It has a friendly, diner-like feel, with plenty of regulars. Everyone just might know your name.
The atmosphere: Old-school neighborhood restaurant. You’ll find a red wall featuring gold characters for “double happiness,” seafood tanks, TVs showing Chinese-language news, and a bar with Keno overhead.
The food: The menu is just as extensive as the one at Ming’s, without the fusion-y modernizations. There are, however, occasional flourishes: For instance, hargow are topped with a smattering of orange fish roe. For taro lovers, the pork spare ribs with rice rolls come with a generous portion of the starchy staple. Steamed buns with egg yolk custard aren’t black and gold, just simple and good. Bean curd skin rolls with pork and bamboo shoots are a standout, supple and light.
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Don’t miss: Crispy chestnut rolls with shrimp, generously filled and fried to a golden hue, encrusted with sesame seeds.
Pricing: As at many restaurants, dim sum is priced according to size: Large dishes (e.g. hargow and shumai) are $6.25, X Large $7.75, and XX Large $9.25.
Good to know: There is a small parking lot. And, if you’re feeling lucky, a lottery ticket machine in the vestibule.
275 Eastern Ave., Malden, 781-388-9900, www.sunkongmalden.com. Dim sum daily 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Meanwhile, Boston’s Chinatown remains a destination for dim sum, served everywhere from the intimate, smaller-scale Great Taste Bakery & Restaurant to the sprawling Empire Garden, with its theatrical grandeur. Longtime standby China Pearl is slated to reopen late summer, and there are other changes on the scene. In its new location, Hei La Moon remains the go-to dim sum for many, but the food and experience aren’t quite what they used to be. There are new stars of the neighborhood, including a pleasant surprise — Jumbo Seafood.
Jumbo Seafood
What’s new is old in Chinatown. Jumbo Seafood started in Chinatown, then uprooted to Newton for over a decade, and in 2022 returned to its original location in Chinatown. There’s Peking duck and stir-fried lobster sticky rice, but also dim sum.
The atmosphere: Traditional and stylish. There’s a weekday lunchtime crowd.
The food: Jumbo makes a strong showing. The hargow and shrimp rolls are plump and fresh — it is a seafood restaurant, after all. Jumbo can deliver the meats, too — the steamed pork spare ribs and the chicken feet are winners. But salted egg yolk lava buns take the “lava” part a little too seriously, exploding when we bite in.
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Don’t miss: Marinated shredded pig ear in mala sauce. We inhale this spicy salad of crisp celery slivers, tender-crunchy slices of pig ear, and peanuts.
Pricing: Small $4.50, medium $5.50, large $6.25.
Good to know: Jumbo serves egg tarts on weekdays. At some places you’ll only find them on Saturday and Sunday.
5 Hudson St., Chinatown, Boston, 617-542-2823. Dim sum Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Sat-Sun 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Dynasty
Opened in 2023 near the Chinatown gate, this is one of the area’s newest, most buzzed-about options for dim sum right now.
The atmosphere: The place looks downright snazzy: walls patterned in gold waves with a shiny black lattice overlay, mirror accents and modern lantern-esque lights, a bar bathed in mood-setting aqua light. It’s formal enough for those walking over from the Financial District to have a client lunch.
The food: We found the food solid, if not as good as Jumbo’s. Beef chow fun was tasty if not particularly beefy; bean curd skin rolls were not our favorite version.
Don’t miss: Shrimp rice rolls, a very nice version filled with whole shrimp.
Pricing: $3.50-$15.95 (most items in the $6-$7 range).
Good to know: There’s an in-house soft-serve machine, dispensing vanilla-strawberry swirl on a recent visit. (Staff might still need a little training on how to use it.)
14A Hudson St., Chinatown, Boston, 617-603-8796, Instagram @dynastybostonchinatown. Dim sum daily 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Winsor Dim Sum Cafe
A longtime neighborhood favorite that doesn’t disappoint. (There’s also a Winsor Dim Sum House & Bar in Quincy. Of course, we had to visit both. Chinatown’s was much better.)
The atmosphere: Up a flight of stairs and somewhat cramped, especially during peak hours. Decor isn’t why people flock here.
The food: Shumai are meaty and excellent. Some things, like hargow, are oversteamed; they’re also on the smaller side. Chicken feet have wonderful flavor: “I usually would only eat one, but here I would eat two,” says a tentative claw gnawer.
Don’t miss: Spicy salted turnip cake, the dish none of us can stop eating, even though we’re bursting at the seams.
Pricing: $6.19 per plate off the main dim sum menu, with a few specialties like the turnip cake ($8.95) and excellent egg yolk sesame balls ($6.50) priced a little higher.
Good to know: The service, sassy and friendly, was an unexpected highlight. Wrist deep in saucy dim sum, one friend was the recipient of a fat stack of napkins, suddenly thrust at her by a passing staffer. We collapsed in laughter; she felt seen. Now that’s attentive service.
Winsor Dim Sum Cafe, 10 Tyler St., Chinatown, Boston, 617-338-1688. Dim sum daily 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
In Quincy, Ming’s steals the show, although it occasionally has an off day. Winsor Dim Sum House & Bar, once the gold standard on the South Shore, isn’t all that it used to be. There’s one other place worth mentioning:
China Pearl
For longtime China Pearl fans, the Quincy outpost is the only option these days, with the Chinatown location at 9 Tyler St. still closed for renovation.
The atmosphere: The Quincy restaurant, which opened in 2006, is massive like its Chinatown sibling. The dining room got a facelift during the pandemic, so it’s looking fresh.
The food: There is a reason China Pearl has been around for decades. The food and service are reliably good. We would not turn down an invitation to eat its hargow and shumai.
Don’t miss: If you prefer your dim sum to arrive by cart, China Pearl has got you covered. The push carts are out daily, and we were giddy to see them.
Pricing: Small $4.50, medium $6.25, large $6.95, extra large $7.95, specials $8.95.
Good to know: Brian Moy, one of the co-owners of China Pearl, confirms that the Chinatown location will reopen by the end of summer, and dim sum will return. Expect a combination of cart and menu service, as well as traditional, elevated, and modern dim sum offerings.
237 Quincy Ave., Quincy, 617-773-9838. Dim sum Wed-Mon 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (closed Tuesdays).
We’ve also been hearing rave reviews of Joyful Garden, so we made the sojourn to Watertown.
Joyful Garden
Like the Ming’s and the China Pearls, Joyful Garden caters to big groups. Think multigenerational family outings and special occasions like birthdays and graduations in a well-appointed space. Yep, it’s in the Watertown Mall.
The atmosphere: A jolly scene, in a large dining room across from the Work ’N Gear and Tobacco Shed. You’ll find seafood tanks, carts, aggressive dim sum ladies prodding diners to try yet another steaming basket of dumplings — the classic experience.
The food: The dim sum doesn’t quite match up to the hype. It’s average to above average. Perhaps it’s not so much that Joyful Garden has slipped, but that new entrants like Ming’s have raised the bar.
Don’t miss: We loved the sweet baked pineapple buns with sugar tops and egg custard. This is also one of the few places where the dim sum carts roam freely daily. It’s reason enough to come here, to experience the instant gratification that used to be a hallmark of eating dim sum.
Pricing: $5.25-$9.75.
Good to know: Don’t be put off by the mall location. You’ll know you’re at the right entrance when you see all the Asian families coming in and out. Expect lines on the weekends.
550 Arsenal St., Watertown, 617-356-1234, www.joyful.boston. Dim sum weekdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m., weekends 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Devra First can be reached at devra.first@globe.com. Follow her @devrafirst. Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at shirley.leung@globe.com.
